


so what if i fall?

by reminiscer



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Anxiety, Consensual Underage Sex, Dead May Parker (Spider-Man), Depression, Drug Addiction, F/M, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Not Spider-Man: Far From Home Compliant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker is a Mess, Recreational Drug Use, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-25
Updated: 2020-04-25
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:27:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23844442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reminiscer/pseuds/reminiscer
Summary: 17 year old Peter Parker has lost everything. Settling into his new life with Tony Stark as his guardian, and reveling in his blossoming relationship with MJ, he'd like to believe that things were starting to work out. But the pain doesn't go away that easily and he starts finding new ways to get through the day.Will the people who love him be enough to pull him back from the edge?(i promise this hasn't been abandoned!! i've just been busy finishing my degree in the midst of a global pandemic and it's pretty exhausting :) but i'll be done by 28/05 so expect an update soon!!!!)
Relationships: Betty Brant/Ned Leeds, Michelle Jones/Peter Parker, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 1
Kudos: 25





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> title inspired by the the song 'dont mind me' by nothing,nowhere and you should definitely listen to it :))

Peter Parker smoked weed. And he loved it. It started out innocently enough when he confiscated a couple grams from a thief while on patrol in the hopes that it might teach him a lesson. When his patrol had finished, he had deciding to swing by MJ’s house, only then realizing that he’d forgotten to throw the weed away like he usually would when something like this happened. When she had discovered that he had the drug in his possession she had encouraged him to try it. She told him it would be a fun experiment; would he be able to get high or would his powers prevent it? And honestly, he really did want to try it. They snuck up to the rooftop of her apartment building with the spliff that MJ had rolled. She smoked occasionally because she preferred it to alcohol but was far from a frequent smoker. Half an hour later, the pair were laying on their backs, Peter’s arm wrapped around MJ’s shoulders with big smiles on their faces as they stared at the light-polluted sky above them and listened to the murmur of voices reaching them from the street far below. Peter’s head felt hazy and weird, and stringing together the words to form a sentence seemed kind of difficult, but he loved the way he felt. Long gone were his worries about school, Spiderman, or the recent loss of his Aunt May. All he could focus on was the feeling of MJ breathing next to him, the softness of her skin and her comforting aura, making him feel safe despite the strangeness of it all. 

He was thankful when MJ banned him from committing a SUI (swinging under the influence), because it meant that he wouldn’t have to leave her. He snuck back into her bedroom through the window and sat on the edge of her bed and spoke the words that he never thought he’d be able to say. Peter didn’t know if it was the adrenaline from patrol, the weed, or the fact that it was nearly 3am, but he found himself confessing his feelings. Because he really did love her. And he knew it wasn’t a secret and he knew she felt the same way after everything he’d gone through after losing Aunt May and everything MJ had done to help him. But this was the first time they’d really acknowledged it. And if their night ended in deep conversation mixed with gentle kisses as MJ’s tough exterior melted away, no one else needed to know about it (except Ned, of course).

When Peter arrived in the penthouse of the tower the next morning he was greeted by a smug Tony. Peter mentally cringed when he realized that he’d forgotten to tell Tony where he was. His parenting wasn’t too strict, because Peter was 17 and had grown up a lot in the past couple of years, but nonetheless he like to at least know where Peter was and what he was up to. This seemed like a fair enough deal to Peter, considering his track history of getting into bad situations and having buildings crush him. Which was why he immediately felt crushed by guilt.

“Sorry, Tony. I swear I’m so sorry, I completely forg-”. Peter stumbled over his words, desperately trying to apologise for his mistake.

“Kid, hey, don’t worry. I was in the lab when I realized I hadn’t heard you get back from patrol. I had FRIDAY track your suit and I figured I wouldn’t interrupt your little romantic night with your girlfriend. Seriously though, next time just shoot me a text, okay? I don’t care if your sneaking off to do god knows what with MJ, you’re basically an adult now. Just let me know where you are because I can’t deal with any more grey hairs”, Tony replied smugly. Of course, he wasn’t going to let Peter get away lightly. Being mad at him wouldn’t do anything but embarrassing him would be extremely gratifying to Tony.

“Ew, Tony! It wasn’t like that. And she’s not my girlfriend. MJ just said I couldn’t swing home because I – um”, Peter stuttered, realizing that if he continued that sentence, he’d definitely be incriminating himself and knowing Tony’s past, it would definitely be an issue.

“Because what, Pete?” Tony replied. The kid was never one to lie about things unless they were big, so he was genuinely confused about what had occurred to keep the kid out all night.

“Oh, just, um, you know… I was tired. She didn’t want me to fall asleep mid-swing and crash face-first into a building. MJ’s very sensible, you know that.” Peter decided not to try to come up with an elaborate lie, because Tony knew him too well for that. And technically it was true… mostly.

“Right, that makes sense.” Tony responded. Because it really did make sense. Tony and MJ had only met a handful of times in the past few months since Peter had moved in but he’d already grown to admire her no-nonsense attitude and the softer side that was hidden beneath her mean remarks and tough demeanor. He’d only seen that side to her a couple of times; once when Peter came down with a pretty bad bout of the flu and again when he’d managed to get himself pretty roughed up in a crime-fighting-spider-related incident. However, he could remember the concern etched across her face as clear as day because it was the exact same way Pepper would look at him whenever he’d ended up in a bad situation. 

Tony stood up from the couch and walked over to the kid, ruffling his hair. This brought a smile to Peter’s face as he realized that he’d manage to keep the events of the previous night a secret from his guardian. 

“Wanna go down to the lab? I missed you last night. Could’ve really done with a spare pair of hands.”

And just like that, everything was back to normal. Soon enough, the pair were settled into their usual routine, each working on different projects but helping each other out when they needed it. Peter’s thoughts soon started wandering, as it often did when he was in his element in the lab. His hands were working hard on altering the tech in front of him, but his mind was on the rooftop of MJ’s apartment block. He wished he could replay the night all over again. He’d left the weed at MJ’s because he didn’t know how tight FRIDAY’s security would be if he brought weed into the tower. But he wanted to be high again as soon as possible and MJ had left first thing to visit relatives and wouldn’t be back until late tomorrow night. Also, surely it wasn’t good to smoke weed for a second day in a row. He knew the drug wasn’t addictive per se, but it was still a bad habit when he had a lot of responsibilities and high expectations placed upon him. 

Tearing his mind away from the thought of getting high, he decided to send a quick text to MJ. 

Peter: Hey MJ  
Peter: I really enjoyed seeing you last night, miss u already 😊  
Peter: Wait no, is that creepy??  
Peter: I mean I do miss u but like I don’t expect anything from u just bc we hung out  
Peter: and slept in the same bed  
Peter: im rambling sorry

Peter sighed. Why was he being weird about it? They were friends after all, and they were totally comfortable with each other. And nothing had really changed. Apart from the kissing. And there he was totally spiraling because suddenly he couldn’t keep his cool around a girl. He put his head in his hands, which caused Tony to look up.

“Kid? Something up?” Tony enquired.

“No, I’m good,” he called over, followed by a “I’m just a fucking loser” under his breath.

“Hey, I heard that. What’s up?”

A moment later, Peter’s phone pinged causing Peter to nearly drop the screwdriver in his hand as he rushed to see the text.

MJ: its all good, loser. i miss u too

Instantly, Peter’s grin returned to his face. Maybe, things were finally looking up for him.

“Everything’s good, Tony.” Peter replied, unable to hide his ecstatic expression.


	2. Chapter 2

Later that night, Peter found himself sat comfortably on top of a Manhattan rooftop, joint in his hand, and a hot pizza next to him. He’d acquired the items firstly by preventing a mugging. The mugger in question just so happened to have weed so Peter thought it was only fair to put it to better use. After all, the mugger did not deserve the weed, and Peter had saved at least three lives tonight, so what was the harm in him obtaining something that would allow him to chill out for a while before going back to the tower. The pizza came when he’d stopped a pizza shop customer from running off without paying. He’d felt kind of bad about that, because maybe the guy was starving and couldn’t afford food, until he got a nasty punch right in the stomach. Turns out it was just another kid who thought it was cool to steal from hard-working people. Apparently, the manager appreciated him stepping in because he was rewarded with a massive pizza and as many toppings as he wanted completely free of charge.

And the pizza tasted good. Not just good… incredible. Out of this universe. Another perk of weed, I guess, Peter pondered. His head was fuzzy, and he wasn’t too sure how long he’d sat on the rooftop for. He figured it was definitely time to head back to the tower before Tony started wondering where he was again.   
That night, as he crawled into bed, he felt weightless for the first time in months, maybe even years. He passed out almost instantly and woke up eight hours later. No nightmares, no insomnia. Just deep, restful sleep.

Peter sat up and rubbed his eyes, shock setting in when he realized that he’d slept through the night. He still felt tired, the same tired that he had felt for a long time. But he also felt happy. Or at least happier. He got dressed and went in search of his guardian. Walking into the kitchen, he found himself presented with a huge array of breakfast food. It had clearly been delivered from the upmarket café down the street, which was a blessing because Tony wasn’t the best at cooking. He poured himself a glass of fresh orange juice and sat down opposite his guardian, tucking into his breakfast. Tony placed the StarkPad that he’d been working on face down on the table to ensure that he wouldn’t get distracted. Mealtimes were always a good opportunity to talk when life got hectic, so he always tried to be present. They exchanged small talk for a while, just enjoying each other’s company. 

Soon after Peter finished eating, he excused himself to finish off the homework that was due the following day. He sat at his desk, study playlist softly playing in the background and got started with his essay. It was kind of mind numbing but Peter had always found some enjoyment in his school work. It was far too easy most of the time but there was something satisfying about studying and learning that was unlike anything else. He used to be embarrassed but after growing closer to Tony and seeing the same passion for knowledge in his role model that he’d been pushing down for so long he’d embraced his nerdy side completely. It was also sometimes a nice change to write an essay instead of studying the math and science related stuff that Tony had been teaching him when he’d realized that Peter could do AP Chemistry in his sleep. Truthfully, as much as Peter adored science, he was also in love with the power of words and poetry. 

Before he knew it, Peter had finished his schoolwork and decided to meet up with Ned for coffee. Recently, Peter’s weekends had been taken up by visits to the compound where he trained with some of the Avengers and he’d had little time to spend with his best friend. But Tony had been quick to realise how hard he had been working and forced him to take a break from superhero extra curriculars this weekend, reminding him that he was still a kid – something that used to make Peter frustrated but was now grateful for. He’d been through way too much in the past couple of years and he finally realized that it was good to have someone looking out for his wellbeing.

Peter ordered an americano while Ned chose a latte. He sometimes liked to go for the fancier drinks that were more sugar than anything else but, when it really came down to it, Peter didn’t think there was anything better than a good, strong coffee. They sat down in the emptiest corner of the coffee shop; something that Peter did automatically now after the few times he’d been out in public with Tony. No one had quite managed to connect the two at this point because of their meticulously planned outings but he knew it was only a matter of time before people started asking questions about him. 

“So, I saw you went to MJ’s after patrol the other day.” Ned said. They’d been chatting aimlessly about school beforehand, but Peter knew the topic was bound to come up. They never spoke about it but Ned’s slight anxiety about Peter’s safety when he was out as Spiderman meant that he often hacked into the suit to check that Peter got home safe and well after patrol.

“Yeah. It wasn’t planned or anything and I basically just crashed there because I didn’t wanna swing back to the tower. No big deal, really. Sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, dude.” Peter replied, hoping that Ned wasn’t upset that he’d not shared this information straight away. 

“Peter, that’s totally a big deal. I can’t believe it’s taken you two this long, honestly. The chemistry between you guys has been right there for months. Do you know how many times I’ve literally wanted to scream in your face to just ask her out? And don’t worry man, I don’t expect you to tell me every little detail about your life.” Ned smiled. Peter was relieved. 

Peter spent the next 20 minutes telling Ned all about how he’d finally told MJ how he feels, grinning the entire time because he had forgotten how great it was to confide in his best friend. Ned had matured a lot since Aunt May had passed away and had become an amazing confidant. Still, he left out the part about the weed, knowing that Ned would most definitely not approve.

“Hey,” Ned said after a slight lull in the conversation. “I forgot to tell you, I was texting Flash about the biology homework this morning and he mentioned that he’s having a party next weekend. Please can we go? I know the last party we went to sucked but, now that Flash isn’t a dick, I think it will be fun.”

“I’ll have to check with Tony, but I’m sure he’ll be cool about it.” Peter replied. Now that Flash had finally grown up and realized that he actually had a lot in common with Ned and Peter they’d actually become good friends. After the initial apology/groveling period, of course. The more they learned about Flash’s personal life, it was easy to understand why he’d been such a bully. Of course, his bad relationship with his parents was no excuse for his cruelty, but it certainly made it easier for the boys to forgive him.


	3. Chapter 3

The following week went quickly. Despite the slight change in relationship between Peter and MJ, everything seemed as normal as ever. The only difference was that the pair had begun to hold hands when walking to classes. Ned seemed over the moon, grinning at Peter whenever MJ looked away. His enthusiasm for their blossoming relationship puts Peter at ease because he’d been worried that Ned would feel rejected. But in between homework, interning and Spider-manning, Peter and MJ had not had a chance to spend any time together outside of school. Luckily, they’d all decided to go the party on Saturday which was a perfect opportunity for the trio to spend some quality time together, as well as with the rest of their classmates.

With Tony’s insistence, the two boys went shopping after school on Friday. His guardian, upon finding out about the party, had given Peter $500 and told him to go and buy himself something new to wear. It wasn’t like he needed a new outfit for a party; after all, his clothes were fine, and no one really dressed up much for a house party. But Tony had been trying to convince Peter to buy some new clothes for a while and on this occasion, Peter hadn’t been able to escape his guardian’s generosity. Truthfully, he’d gotten a lot more comfortable with the idea of taking Tony’s money due to how long they had known each other and how close they had become. He still felt odd about how quickly Tony would hand over large amounts of money whenever he got the chance, but Tony had convinced him that he’d earned the money by actually taking on an intern role at the company and also helping him out with Avengers tech.

Peter bought himself a new sweater and jeans, along with a new pair of white Converse. The outfit was expensive but still much cheaper than it would have been had he allowed Tony to buy him something. With much of the money unspent, he treated Ned to dinner at one of their favourite Italian restaurants and then headed out on patrol after dropping off his purchases at home.

It was almost no surprise to Peter that he found himself, later that night, back on a rooftop near Stark Tower, with a joint in hand. He had music playing on his phone and he sat looking down at the city below him. He’d resisted from partaking in his new hobby all week, figuring that it may interfere with his schoolwork, and his already hectic schedule. But, tonight had been a quiet night for Spiderman and he was feeling a little anxious about the party. He could feel the worry disappear from his head. He felt lighter. He felt like he could breathe a little easier. He decided to text MJ about the party, feeling more confident than usual.

Peter: hey 😊  
MJ: hey, whats up?  
Peter: just thinking about the party tomorrow  
Peter: i reckon tony will give us a ride  
Peter: if u want  
MJ: sounds cool, pick me up at 8?  
Peter: ok  
MJ: ned said your still out in your suit, go home and get some sleep  
Peter: im just hangin out  
MJ: yeah?  
Peter: yeahhhhh  
MJ: go hang out at home  
MJ: before tony and ned start to worry  
Peter: only tony and ned..? ☹  
MJ: and me  
MJ: but don’t tell anyone i said that  
Peter: 😊

Ten minutes later, Peter arrived back at the tower. His high had worn off enough that he felt capable of swinging home. He sent a quick text to MJ to tell her that he’d made it home safe, knowing that she’d pass on the message to Ned, and collapsed on his bed. He lay there for a while, watching random videos on YouTube. The slight high made everything much more interesting. Soon enough, Peter become aware of how heavy his eyelids had become. He checked the time, realizing it was nearly 4am and decided it was time to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Saturday morning welcomed a heavy downpour of rain. As Peter yawned and blinked open his sleepy eyes, he could smell the damp air from the slightly ajar from the other side of his bedroom. He sighed heavily and curled up tighter in his bed. It wasn’t that he really disliked rainy weather, but something about today just felt melancholy and the rain definitely wasn’t helping.

Sometimes this just happened. Sometimes there would be a day where everything felt heavy and suffocating but empty and distant all at once. It made no sense and he felt disoriented, his mind filled with fog that he couldn’t find the motivation to fight his way through. Even opening his eyes felt like a struggle that was just too great to overcome. These days were frequent enough before his Aunt May died but now, they were more frequent than ever. It was easier when he had to get up for school, the routine giving him something to focus on. It was still unpleasant, but he knew what he had to do. But on weekends, when staying in bed was an option and no one was expecting him to be doing anything in particular, finding the strength to just keep going was harder than ever.

He rolled over, picking up his phone and began scrolling mindlessly through his twitter feed. But that got boring fast, so he started watching some dumb YouTube videos until that got too dull. Soon enough, he was on TikTok watching video after video while really taking none of it in. Eventually that got boring too and he decided to sleep for a little longer. He buried his head beneath one of the pillows on his bed, in a weak attempt to block out the light that was streaming into his room from the floor-to-ceiling windows.  
Tony appeared at around lunchtime, wondering why the kid hadn’t made an appearance in the lab, or at the very least, the kitchen.

“Hey kid. Everything okay? What are you still doing in bed?”

“Tired.” Peter mumbled from the underneath his nest of blankets.

“Tired like you’ve had a long week and you need to catch up on sleep or tired like you’re getting sick?” Tony asked, slightly confused. “Or maybe a different kind of tired?” Tony added on at the end, knowing that the kid had almost certainly been hiding how much he was struggling with things.

Peter sighed quietly. He knew he could lie and just say he needed to catch up on sleep. It was perfectly reasonable considering the busy schedule he had. But even a simple lie like that seemed too exhausting right now and honestly, he didn’t really see the point in pretending. Tony had always been supportive and understanding; listening to him when he had a problem but never crossing the line into overbearing helicopter parent that could do more harm than good.

“Maybe… maybe the last one?” Peter responded. It came out like a question and he wasn’t really sure why. But his head was still foggy and forming sentences was draining.

Tony sighed and made his way over to sit on the edge of Peter’s bed. Part of him was worried that this was crossing a boundary. After all, as much as they had become better at opening up to each other since they had first met, and in the few days following May’s death Peter had been particularly clingy and desperate for comfort that only Tony could give, the barriers between them were still there. Not because they didn’t care deeply about each other, but because they were both so damaged from the traumas of their past that this kind of bond that had been forming between them was something that was difficult for both of them to face.

But right now, none of that mattered. Tony couldn’t bare to see the way everything about the kid seemed… off. He looked down at the kid that was barely visible in the nest of blankets and felt an unbridled desperation to help him.

“What can I do, kid?” He asked quietly, knowing from past experience that when Peter was having a rough day, it was much more likely that he’s experience a sensory overload. He knew he needed to help, and he hoped Peter would let him.

Neither of them could have predicted what happened next. He didn’t know what it was that made him do it, maybe it was the tone in his mentor’s voice, or the way the rain outside was still pouring, or the distinct smell of the lab still present on Tony’s clothes, reminding him of one of the only places he felt safe. He didn’t know why he did it, but he found himself launching his tired body into the arms of his mentor, burying his head in his chest. Tony had been ready, sensing that the kid might be in need of the physical comfort that he only really allowed himself to seek out when things were really bad. He braced himself against the kid’s weight, arms holding him tight. Firm and fierce so that the kid would feel protected from whatever mental pain had decided to rear its ugly head today. Peter wasn’t sure at what point he’d started crying but he was aware of it now. Because he was sobbing in a way that he’d not done since the day of May’s funeral.

But this was different. He wasn’t sobbing because he was mourning her death. Yeah, maybe that was part of it but really, he was just having a bad day. A really bad day. And in a way, this felt so much worse because there was no logical explanation for why he felt the way he did. Why his chest felt like stone and throat felt like acid. His sobs were making it harder for him to breath and he reminded himself to take deep breaths. He knew that Tony was probably telling him to do that too, but the ringing in his ears was making it hard for him to listen to anything. Nevertheless, he could feel his mentor’s strong arms wrapped around his body, holding him together while he allowed himself to fall apart. He could feel one of Tony’s hands combing through his hair in a way that calmed him like nothing else. And he knew that this, whatever this was, would be over soon. And he’d be able to breath properly again. And everything would feel brighter. And that’s what gave him the strength to focus on his breathing and calm down.

Peter wasn’t sure when it had happened, but at some point, Tony had readjusted them, so that he was leaning against the headboard of Peter’s bed, the younger boy still firmly wrapped in his arms. It had been at least 15 minutes since Peter’s crying had stopped but neither of them could say how long it had been since Tony had first entered the room.

“Th-thanks, Mr. Stark.” Peter mumbled against his chest. He was too exhausted to really be embarrassed by his breakdown, but he still felt a little shy.

“Hey, I thought we’d gotten past that.” Tony smirked, his chin resting on top of his Peter’s head. It had been months since Peter had called him that. Peter didn’t really know how to respond, choosing to bury his head deeper into Tony’s chest. The smell of engine oil and coffee continuing to ground him.

“Wanna talk about it?” Tony asked. Peter shook his head. Sometimes there was nothing to talk about. Sometimes things just sucked and there was nothing more to it. Tony understood that.

So instead they moved to the living area and watched a movie. Or rather they pretended to. Peter worked on returning to reality, clearing the fog from his mind and easing the tension that he could feel in his limbs. And Tony, watched closely from the corner of his eye, one arm thrown around Peter’s shoulders to remind him that he was still there if he needed him. By the time the movie had ended, Peter had managed to return to some semblance of normal. Pepper had returned with pizza and Peter had devoured almost the usual amount that he normally would, which made Tony almost sigh audibly in relief is he hadn’t been trying hard to not make a big deal out of Peter’s breakdown. Tony had texted Pepper to inform her of what had happened so she’d been quick to rush home as soon as she could to provide comfort to her boys and was now situated on the other side of Peter. Close enough to provide comfort but giving him space too. Their relationship had certainly grown since Peter had moved in, but they were definitely not as close as Peter and Tony were.

Peter stretched and yawned loudly as the credits rolled. He rubbed his eyes and looked at Tony.

“I should probably go get ready for the party.” He spoke almost timidly, expecting Tony to shut him down immediately. He didn’t think Tony would agree to let him go after what had happened. He knew how much Tony worried about him and he suspected that the events of the day would only make him worry more.

“I’m not going to stop you from going, kid, but are you sure you want to? I’m sure Ted and your scary girlfriend wouldn’t mind if you skipped it.” Tony replied, knowing that this would elicit a smile from the kid.

“Tony!” Peter groaned. He knew that Tony knew Ned’s name. After all, Tony was not all that good at hiding the fact that he was actually impressed by not only Ned’s capacity to be an amazing friend to Peter but also a damn good hacker and generally smart kid. And of course, Tony knew that MJ wasn’t really Peter’s girlfriend, but everyone knew it was only a matter of time before she was, including Peter. 

“I think I want to go. I think it’ll be fun, y’know.” Peter smiled, shyly. He knew it was what he needed. Staying in tonight would only remind him of what he was missing out on and for once he just wanted to be a normal teenager.

“Whatever you want, kid. Just let me know when you’re ready to go.” Peter nodded and left the room.

Tony sighed and pulled Pepper closer, filling the space between them that had previously held Peter.

“I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to come home to. It sounded pretty bad. You did good, Tony.” Pepper reassured her husband. She knew that he was probably already questioning whether he had handled things properly. But it was clear to her that whatever he had done was as good as it could’ve been.

“I hate seeing him like that, Pep.” Tony replied. He wished he could take all of the pain away. He’d known early on that Peter was a complicated kid, when they’d first started to work on Spider-Man tech together. He’d arrived at the lab after school one day, and it was clear to Tony that something was wrong. He’d ignored it initially, feeling like it wasn’t his place to ask questions, but when he noticed the slight tremor in the kid’s hands when he’d asked him to hold something, and when he saw the glazed over look in the kid’s eyes when he’d asked him for his opinion on a new idea, he knew that there was more to the teenager than the happy-go-lucky attitude that he normally showed. That was the first day they’d stopped working to grab food and just hang out and Tony had made it a habit to check in a little more often and open up about some his own problems just a little bit to make sure the kid didn’t feel so alone.

“He’s been through a lot, but he’ll be okay. He’s got you,” Pepper smiled, “He’s got us.”


End file.
